


Striated Blues

by Blue_hare



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-04-23 00:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19140328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_hare/pseuds/Blue_hare
Summary: "So what are you gonna do once I graduate?"Alternate Universe set in the Attack on Titan Jr. High as well as the SNK High school extra.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I needed a break from canon works so here is a AU one. I've had this one for a while and just decided to edit it and post it. Enjoy.

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“So, what are you gonna do once I graduate?” 

There’s a surprised chuckle from behind him. The table, by the sound of it, instead of his usual spot by the window. 

The seat by the window he had only taken because Levi had complained and nagged. He had begun to look like a corpse or a fucking twilight vampire, Levi had told him. He had chuckled then too but, he had listened to Levi’s nagging and since then would sit himself by the open window while grading a stack of history papers. 

“What do you mean what am I gonna do?” Levi can hear him clearer which means he must be facing him or his back at least. 

Levi does his best not to completely freeze up under the intense gaze. 

“I mean what are you gonna do about food? Lunch and dinner…?” 

There’s a pause. 

“I don't understand where this question is going?” 

The water stops running and Levi wipes his hands on the dish towel. He turns around, annoyed at having to explain himself. 

“You can't cook! What the hell are you gonna do about food when graduation comes around...tomorrow?” 

Blue eyes look back at him, surprised at his sudden outburst. Levi doesn’t expect him to laugh at him and it pisses him off because it embarrasses him. 

“Levi,” he stands up, noticing Levi’s serious face. “I appreciate you worrying about me. But, I’ve been able to survive, thus far, for the past 6 years. I’m sure I’ll be just fine once you graduate.”

He is smiling his stupid, dopey smile. The one that makes all the vapid girls from school giggle uncontrollably. The one Levi hates because it sends a flurry of creepy, crawley insects scattering in his stomach. 

The rice cooker beeps but Levi doesn't immediately go to it. 

He wants to say something back. _Something_ that has been sitting within him for a long time...ever since.... 

Ever since, Erwin Smith, first came to replace their retired History teacher. 

He can’t. 

He nods, unable to speak his agreement and turns around to grab the bowls so they can start eating. They still have the Survey club meeting left, afterall. He can hear Erwin gather his papers while he spoons the fried chicken and vegetables onto a separate plate. He makes sure that the carrots are piled onto his plate only. Then, he hesitates, and puts them back on Erwins plate. He feels like being spiteful to him right now. 

He knows it’s childish. He knows he is being immature. 

But, he can't help it. Maybe that’s the answer, right there. 

Levi, despite all that he may be “mature” is still only 15 years old and Erwin… 

Erwin is older than him and his history teacher. He is sure that he probably wouldn’t even look twice at someone like him. 

Levi is too short, too pale, too crass, too bad tempered, too much of everything that a 22 year old like Erwin Smith is probably not looking for in a potential lover. 

Levi doesn’t even _know_ if he likes men. 

“Is everything okay? Do you need me to get anything, Levi?” 

Levi shakes his head clear of his stupid thoughts and replies that he doesn't need any help. 

“Just...can you get the tea?” 

The two of them eat their meal the same as always. As they’ve done for the past 2 and half years. 

Erwin doesn't comment on the carrots on his plate that have, until now, never been on it. He looks at Levi who is casually eating and smiles. 

He is glad his troublesome student will soon graduate. 

When Erwin first came, Levi had been the student that he’d been warned about. 

Bad attitude and temper and atrocious when it came to his studies. A veritable delinquent by all accounts. 

It took some coaxing and a firm and persistence that Erwin had always had. Patience being one of his strong suits and eventually, Levi had changed. The Levi from 2 years ago and the one sitting across from him were nearly two different people but...not really. 

Levi was the same, it’s only that he finally had a teacher that was willing to listen to him and overlook his colourful language and see that, underneath his surly attitude, he was a dedicated student, if only given the chance. Why many of the other teachers had been surprised when eventually his grades on tests were marked higher than those of Hange Zoe. Levi had become quite the accomplished student. Add to that, his exceptional cooking and homemaking abilities and well. Erwin was sure his student would break many a hearts once he reached high school. He already had quite the following as it was. Erwin was sure the younger students would mourn the loss of their “Captain” as they had taken to calling him in the Survey Club. 

Kids really did grow up quite fast, he mused. 

Erwin ate the carrots reminiscing of a delinquent student forcing him into creating the Home Economics Club. It had meant more work for him but he was glad Levi had not given up so easily. Determination was a good quality to have and Levi had plenty. He was sure to go far in whatever field he choose to pursue in the future. 

Erwin Smith, 22 year old History teacher could surely hear his old classmates mocking him and calling him an “Old Man” a nickname that Levi had found amusing and often threw back at him whenever he felt Erwin was being or acting particularly “Senile”. 

He supposed it was true. He really was an “old man.” 

Working here, for the past 2 years, with these kids, Erwin felt more often than not, like a parent. Granted, a cool parent, but still a parent. 

He wondered, especially when Eren and Jean argued, whether he had ever appeared that childish or naive to his teachers. Or if, like his older classmate called him, was simply a “know-it-all eyebrows?” He supposed children like him would always feel and garner a certain kind of envy from others when called things like “prodigy” or “genius.” None of which Erwin particularly felt he was. He just simply liked school and to learn and had a knack for it. 

The measure of his so called “genius” would be in whether his students would be able to learn from him and whether he could teach them and help them in whatever way he could. 

He felt he had achieved that with Levi. 

That’s why Erwin had no regrets. 

He had taught the kids as much as he could and imparted to them what little he could offer them from his 22 years of life. He was the one that had learned the most. He would be sure to address it later in Survey club. He was positive, that by now, everything had been set up for Levi, Hange, and Mike’s graduation celebration. They didn't know it yet, but, he supposed, it was a bit for him as well. 

He lingered in the doorway to the Home Economics classroom. Levi had left everything spick and span. He really would miss the food Levi would prepare for them to eat. 

“Why the fuck are you taking so long?” 

“Language, Levi.” 

“Tch.” 

Erwin smiled as he followed Levi to the Survey Club meeting. It would be the last one. 

They met Hange and Mike on the way. 

Erwin watched his students talk and laugh with each other. He stopped for a moment. 

_This must be what a teacher feels when they release their cute students onto an unsuspecting world. Ah, it really is tough letting go._

“Eh, Erwin-sensei, why are you stopping?” Hange calls. 

Erwin smiles back, thinking that the world certainly will not be ready for this one. 

“Nothing, just thinking that my cute students will soon, no longer, belong to me.” 

“Gross, you perv.” Levi says. “Have you no shame calling us cute?” 

Erwin laughs when Hange insists that they are definitely not cute but sexy and that Mike, with his just grown mustache, is very handsome and Levi is the cute one.. 

“Right, right.” He humours them. 

They go their way, with Levi angry at Hange for being called cute and at Erwin for agreeing with Hange’s assessment. 

His ears are red though and that just makes Erwin more sure of how cute his students are. 

He will miss them. 

As soon as the three enter the designated meeting place they are greeted with shouts of “Surprise!” and confetti. The party is a success despite Jean and Eren arguing, Levi’s frown at the obvious mess, and the general chaos that Erwin quite easily predicted. He ends with an apple juice toast to the three graduates and his thanks for a great year and wishes them a summer filled with many adventures. 

Once everything is done and Levi has deemed the classroom “Not bad.” Erwin bids goodbye and be careful on your way home to them before heading back to the teachers office. 

“Erwin, we were just talking about you. Congratulations, we’ve only just been told.” 

“Thank you, but I really can't stay long. I've only came to bring back the keys and paperwork.” 

“That’s right. You must be very busy with preparations. Well, we won't keep you long.” 

Erwin hands over the keys and paperwork and double checks his desk, one last time. He picks up the box with all his things as well as the congratulatory gifts his colleagues had gotten him. He assures them that he will be present at tomorrows graduation ceremony and bids them goodnight. 

His footsteps echo in the dark hallways. He passes the Survey Club room, the Home Economics room. The memories play one by one and he smiles fondly. Erwin Smith looks back once and then vanishes into the dark of night. 

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It’s early morning when Levi gets to school. He promised Hange and Mike that he would take a walk with them, around the school, before the ceremony. He stops at the teachers office hoping to find Erwin but he is not there. 

“Ah, Ackerman, good morning. All ready for the big day?” 

He nods. 

“Well I’m sure you must be very excited. Come help me bring these pins for the graduates.” 

Levi has no choice but to help and by the time they are done, Hange and Mike, arrive. He is left with no time to go and look for his History teacher. 

The ceremony has him in a foul mood. The girls cry and the boys pretend they don't and it's all a complete waste of time. He would have skipped it if, he hadn’t had to find that stupid teacher of his. He reasons, he can find him and tell him afterwards just as well. He is sure the bastard will be way too happy and thankful once he tells him that Levi will continue making him lunch and dinner. That’s what he came up with yesterday evening. 

He will make and pack lunch and dinner for the useless adult, despite him being in a different school. It’s not like it’s that far anyway. It’s still in the same town. Besides, he’s got all summer to figure out how to work the schedule properly. He’s sure, that just like all the other summers, Erwin will just spend it indoors until Levi and the others come and bully him into playing with them or supervising outings to the beach or hiking. 

He’s not paying any attention to what the old director is babbling about until he says Erwin’s name. 

“...and so I am sad to announce that he will be leaving us in order to further his own studies. It has been a pleasure having you as our History teacher. I”m sure your students are just as happy for you for having won a Fulbright Scholarship. I hope you young students take Mr. Smith as an example of what can be accomplished when you put all your effort into your studies. I want to congratulate you both for accomplishing all that you have in the last 3 years that you’ve been here and wish the very best in your future endeavours. You have done this school very proud.” 

There’s more but Levi can no longer hear anything. 

He's left in overwhelming shock. When the others around him rise for an ovation he does not. 

Anger quickly follows his shock. 

Why didn’t he say anything? 

Why? 

_Why?_

“Levi. Levi.” 

It’s Hange and Mike. Only them three remain. 

When had everyone gotten up and left? 

“Are you okay?” She is using that soft tone, the one that he has identified as her mothering tone. 

But he doesn’t register her yet...His mind is remembering, catching and processing, what had happened, what he has only just learned. 

His eyes widen and he moves his head, whiplash fast, towards the stand. 

His seat is empty. 

“He is saying goodbye to the students.” Mike tells Levi. “They mauled him as soon as the ceremony ended.” 

They look at him knowingly and wonder. 

“Levi, did he tell you? Did he say anything?” 

“No.” 

He wonders if he misheard the scratch in his reply? If they did? 

They take a seat, one on each side of him. 

They are quiet and contemplative as they think of all that they had only just discussed yesterday, after the party, with everyone else from the Survey Club. They had completely taken over the karaoke bar in town and planned their summer around individual family vacations and outings in order to meet up for the summer festival. A last outing as the Survey Club before the older 3 started High School. 

“Is it bad that I feel angry he is leaving us so abruptly?” Hange confesses in a whisper. 

They don't say anything. 

Levi feels angry and...betrayed. 

He planned everything! He was going to continue making Erwin lunch and dinner and…

...He would have continued to see him every day. 

Nothing would have changed even though Levi was going graduate. 

Levi laughs abruptly and it startles Hange and Mike in their seats. 

_So damn childish. He was so fucking childish to think that everything would have stayed the same._

Wasn't it him that had wanted things, _their relationship,_ to eventually change? 

He'd wanted things to change and now...they did, they were…they already had. 

“Come on.” He tells them standing up. He is surprised his legs don’t shake beneath him. “We should go congratulate him.” 

Does he sound ok? Can they hear the… _something_ present in his voice? 

There are still student around him. All members of the Survey club and his other students from history class. They are sitting in a circle and it would have made Levi remark something about them being children and he an old man. He only feels a lump in his throat as Erwin’s voice becomes clearer. 

“Yes, I will miss you all very much.” He assures them sincerely. “I only realize that now. How strange? But I’m sure you guys will quickly forget about me…” 

_Quickly forget about him._

No. The idea is laughable. 

“So when are you leaving?” Levi asks from behind him. 

Erwin startles at the question. He is not the only one. Both Hange and Mike look confused at Levi. The director said it during the ceremony after all. 

“I will be leaving shortly.” 

Levi rolls his eyes. 

“I don't mean that. When do you have to go to wherever it is that your studying at? Will you stay the summer?” 

The others are silent and they look to each other suddenly filled with a pitying look, othes confused by the nature of Levi’s question. 

“My flight is this afternoon. I made sure that there was enough time for me to be able to make it to your graduation. I---” 

“This afternoon?!” 

“Yes.” 

“You fucking, selfish, asshole!” 

The words burst from within Levi and he feels both relieved and horrified. The others look at him, their eyes wide at his outburst, at the unexpected severity of his words. 

Before Erwin can respond Levi takes off running. 

_Fuck!_

Today. 

_He is leaving today!_

His chest is burning and his eyes…

Childish. Naive. Stupid. Fucking. Immature. Idiot. 

“Levi!” 

He can hear footsteps behind him and it makes him run faster. 

Erwin still catches up to him and grabs his wrist. 

They both come to a stop. 

It’s silent except for their panting in the empty hallway. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” 

His voice cracks and he refuses to look up at him. 

“It...just didn't seem like the right time...and to tell you the truth, I wasn’t completely sure whether to accept it even though I had applied with the intention of doing so.” He lets his hand go. 

Levi wishes he hadn’t. 

“But, seeing all of you working so hard and preparing for your next step in life, reinvigorated me and my dream for furthering my studies.” 

“You still could have said something…” He hopes it doesn't sound like he is whining. It doesn’t even matter now though.

“I know.” He sounds regretful. “All I can say is that I didn’t want to face you guys and have to so say “goodbye.” It’s been a real joy being here with you all. I’m very proud to have been your teacher and you’ve all taught me alot.” 

Levi mulls it over and thinks that, of course he has a perfectly suitable excuse to offer. He makes sure his voice doesn't waver. 

“Still so shitting sappy for an old man.” 

He looks up when Erwin laughs. It sends a melancholic thrill through him and his not even _gone yet._

Erwin takes the chance to look back at him and, then, he surprises Levi by stepping closer and cupping his face. His hands are so big and again Levi is reminded of their height difference, their age difference. 

He doesn’t realize he has stopped breathing. 

There is only the intense blue of Erwins eyes. With how close they are, Levi can make out all the striations of the different blues that make up the unique color of his eyes. 

“Levi, you especially, have made me very proud. Thank you for trusting me and I wish you the very best.” 

He sounds so sincere and he has never touched Levi like this. Grey eyes widen and his cheeks are warming up. He is sure, Erwin feels them doing so beneath his hands...and he can't help that maybe...maybe he is going to…

Erwin smiles at him and it’s blinding and mesmerizing, so much so, that he hardly feels when Erwin’s hands give his cheeks a very obvious squeeze and then another. 

_What the…?!_

“Well Hange, pay up. I’ve done it. I won our bet.” 

_What?!_

“Damn it!” Hange is suddenly there and Erwin's hands are gone from his burning cheeks. 

“Mike, how much do you have on you?” 

Levi feels lightheaded and discombobulated. 

“Ah, Levi.” Erwins hands are back on him, on his thin shoulder. “I apologize if I startled you but, well, with that, I’ve just won a bet.” He has the audacity to throw a wink at him! And Levis cheeks burn further in embarrassment. 

“Be sure to ask Hange about the details. Hange, Mike, it’s been a pleasure.” He is looking at his watch. “I have to go now. My ride should be here. Hange don't forget what I asked of you.” 

The mood changes with that announcement. It’s so jarring that Levi feels dizzy all over again. 

He's leaving now. 

_Now._

They follow him to the front entrance where the rest of the collective Survey Club and others are waiting. They yell when they see them, shouting that the cab is here. 

It’s a blurry flurry of goodbyes and last minute embraces and well wishes of safe travel and good luck. There’s no more time left. No chance for anything else to be said and yet, and still…

Levi doesn’t remember how or when? Only _that._ An embrace. Himself being engulfed in a familiar scent, a comforting scent, and the ticklish whispered words in his left ear. 

“I never realized your eyes weren’t just grey. There’s blue in them too.” 

The cab door closes and Levi is frozen, cheeks burning, left wondering, as always, what was the exact meaning behind that stupid blonde teachers words. 

They say, with time, one eventually forgets the sound of someone's voice. 

That’s a stinking pile of shit in Levi’s opinion. 

Levi remembers exactly how his voice sounded. How warm and ticklish his breath was and all the striated blues of his eyes. 

He won’t forget. He can't forget. 

_“I never realized your eyes weren’t just grey. There’s blue in them too.”_

He guesses first loves are like that. 

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Unforgettable and haunting, filled with gleams of gold and striated blue. 

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	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Growing up is hard and complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm late again and I'm sorry. I hope you enjoy this next part.

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Levi sighs in the back room, frustrated by how much fucking noise everyone's making. He curses, scratching at the uncomfortable, itchy collar of the dress. 

_Fucking maid cafes._

This is his third year, his last year before university, before becoming a proper adult. 

“Levi, hurry with the drinks!” 

He rolls his eyes, placing the jug of iced tea harder than necessary. He is in a terrible mood. Hange said that he wouldn’t have to dress up like the others but damn her and her shitting assurances. 

He had volunteered to make the four items on their menu and he’d been lucky enough that _some_ of his classmates weren’t completely useless when it came to the kitchen. Lydia, as it turned out, was good at baking, and Moblit, although inexperience, was a fucking artist when it came to decorating. Levi himself felt inferior when it came to the quiet guys creativity. And of course, Nanaba, had always been someone he could easily count on. 

But damn it all, he still had wound up helping outside. One of the girls had gotten sick with cramps although they( Hange) told Levi it was freaking diarrhea, much to the girls embarrassment come Monday. 

“It better be the explosive kind!” 

Levi had threatened as he changed out of his white apron and into the dress. He thanked whomever was out there, that the perverted boys hadn’t beat out the girls when it came to the length of the dress. The girls had argued that as it was them that would be wearing them, they had final say in the design. A pretty reasonable thing really. Still, those fucking hormonal beasts. 

For the past hour Levi had been running around their classroom, feeling that today it appeared particularly smaller than usual. He’d been ignoring all the looks the boys were giving him. Maybe if they weren’t so fat they would have been able to fit into the dress. Of course then they would have needed not be so fucking tall. 

Damn the powers that shitting be. Levi had not grown anywhere near what the boys had since middle school. That of course being the prime reason why it had been _him_ , the girls had come running to when they had been one, reasonable-dress-length, maid down. 

“Your drinks, my Lord and Lady.” 

He kept his voice neutral and polite. There would have been no way he would change his voice so that it would be feminine. He had to draw a line somewhere. 

The couple stared at him suspiciously. 

He stared right back, daring them to comment on his obvious lack of breasts...and supposed friendly manner that all the other maids were showing their customers. 

_Come on fucking say something._

Just as it seemed that this impromptu staring contest would never end he heard a deep, _familiar_ chuckle behind him. He froze. 

_No. Fucking. Way._

“They’ve still, somehow, managed to get you to wear a dress.” Levi’s heart accelerated. “I recall you being a terribly potty-mouthed maid with manners to match during your second year in middle school, Levi.” 

_Shit._ Of course he'd fucking show up after all this time, right when Levi was dressed in this ridiculous get up. Levi cursed Hange with forevermore unable to find her glasses and possibly singeing her eyebrows completely off in the next chemistry lab. 

He turned around, stiff as a board. 

_Of all the fucking time---_

There he was, sitting perfectly at ease, smiling, as if nothing had changed, at Levi. And of course, the first thing he noticed were the different colored striations of his damn blue eyes. 

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. 

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Levi doesn't hate school, despite what all the teachers think or say. 

He does however, hate the looks all the teacher give him. Just because he’s on a scholarship with room and board. As if being poor makes him automatically a problematic student. Mostly he hates them because, somehow, they wound up hearing rumors about a fight that he got into in his previous school. Without even verifying the facts. It hadn’t been his fault he saw some bastard upperclassmen harassing some of the elementary school kids and did something about it. 

But the incident followed him all the way to this school and it made him a troublesome delinquent in his teachers eyes. Of course, then the actual delinquent students gave him a hard time. 

“You the kid that beat those high schooler's up.?” Rat face number 1 asked while his toad faced friend, warts and all, snorted in disbelief.. 

“Can’t be. Hes too fucking short. Freaking chihuahua. There’s no way he beat up those high schooler's.” 

They didn't even see it coming, 

“The fuck you call me you pieces of shit?” 

He ended up in detention and once that happened there was no going back. The teachers hated him and the delinquent students kept trying to get back at him. His desk was vandalized, his locker room graffitied and his school materials thrown away or destroyed. Levi certainly didn't ingratiate himself to his fellow classmates. They feared him and wanted nothing to do with him. Consequently, there was no one willing to share their work books with him when his were soaked and caked with mud and something other, that he just did not care to think about. Levi struggled those few weeks but he didn't let it show and eventually he found friends or more accurately they found him. 

Hange Zoe transferred at the end of his first month. Rumor was, she was expelled from her previous school for accidentally blowing up the chemistry lab. As it turned out, it hadn’t been an accident at all...Hange just had it in for her male Chemistry teacher who was a total “misogynist douche-bag.” Mike transferred a week after, on account of his family moving due to his father's job. And so the three found themselves a rather odd trio. 

By then Levi had been so behind with school work he stayed late over at the library in an effort to make a dent in the ever increasing pile of school work, most of which was overdue. His friends would have helped and tutored him in the subjects he found of particular nuisance but he refused to ask for it. It had been enough that they somehow let him borrow the textbooks he needed. The quarter was ending and he had managed to bring his grades up but they were nowhere near where he wanted them to be. 

He’d gone over the notes Hange had shoved at him, trying to make sense of her illegible chicken scrawl, while working through problems for Chemistry. 

“Fucking shitty notes.” he mumbled shoving them with enough force that they ended up sliding over the table with a loud _thwup._ That caused several of the students to throw irritated glares at him to which he flipped a finger at. 

“These notes aren’t very helpful are they?” 

“No shit, Sherlock.” Levi snapped, turning to the side at the unwanted intruder. 

He was huge, a damn, blonde giant with thick eyebrows and sparkly blue eyes. He was smiling at Levi bemusedly while holding out Hange’s dog-eared notebook. It was a strange sight, that dirty notebook in the hands of a neatly dressed guy, that made Levi decidedly snap defensively. 

“It’s not fucking mine okay. That shitty four eyes can’t keep her crap clean.” 

Levi turned back ears burning, missing the grin spreading on Blondie’s face. 

“I’m sure they...were just trying to be helpful...but if you’d like I could go over your lesson with you?” 

Levi turned back around, eyebrow raised. Whoever this was looked like every other kid Levi had known to be - arrogant and probably swimming in daddy and mommy’s money. Levi hated his kind. They looked down on him and people like him so, there was no fucking way he’d let this golden boy treat him like an idiot. 

“I’m fine.” 

His tone and him angling his body away, focused on the problem set, made it more than clear enough he was done talking with Golden boy. 

“Sure. I’ll just be across the way then and it’s an open invitation by the way.” 

_Undeterred by Levi very obviously ignoring him, he strolled across to the other end of the small library wing and took a seat on a desk where he promptly pulled out a shiny laptop. Levi who had been secretly eyeing him from the corner of his eyes snorted. _Golden rich boy indeed.__

__

He spent the next half hour trying to make heads or tales of Hange’s notes and then the very unhelpful textbook and nothing...He was bouncing his leg in exasperated irritation. He really needed to get these problems and he wasn’t. He looked from the corner of his eye. _He_ was still there. Levi gave a deep sigh, talking himself through the pros and cons of approaching Golden boy. He _really_ needed to bring his chemistry grade up. It was the one subject he had the most trouble with. 

__

He racked his mind on how exactly to go about it. He wanted to just get it over with as soon as possible but he did not want to seem desperate - although he was. He cursed under his breath, gathering his papers and book bag. He tried to make as little noise as possible as he walked across to where he was sitting, still immersed in typing whatever it was he was doing. He pulled the chair opposite him and sat down stiffly, shoulders tense. 

__

Golden boy stared at him, blue eyes slightly wide but not unwelcoming. 

__

“You better know your shit about this.” He stared at the stoichiometry problems Levi set on the table. “Otherwise you’d just be wasting my time.” 

__

Levi waited for him to say something. An arrogant or boastful remark back but he merely smiled and said. 

__

“I’d hate to waste your time.” he looked down at the worksheet and then closed his laptop, putting it aside. He took out a blank sheet of paper wrote down an example problem. His writing was neat, nowhere near as nice as Levi’s but not bad at all. 

__

“We can do one together and then you can try one on your own and let me know where it is you have trouble at.” 

__

Levi didn't nod just leaned over as Golden boy started. He was good at explaining and was clear in how he converted this to that. Best of all he didn't make Levi feel like an idiot. He'd gone over the problem well enough that Levi worked through the first 3 problems (meanwhile Blondie was taking notes from a heavy textbook) before he hit a snag, again though, Blondie easily explained what it was he had to do and Levi finished everything.

__

Blondie looked over his worksheet when he was done at Levi's request, insisting that he'd prefer to get everything the first time to which the other replied that it was a good way of approaching something challenging. Levi was attempting to write for another class while the other looked over his answers. Perhaps it was that quietness that drew Levi’s attention as Blondie continued looking over his stoichiometry problem set. 

__

The side of his face was resting on the palm of his hand. He was tired and hungry, and with nothing else to distract him, his wandering eyes and curiosity were drawn to Blondie. He hadn’t gotten a proper look at him. 

__

The guy was huge and as Levi had been sitting down when their initial meeting, their height difference was even more exaggerated. But now, they were both sitting across from each other and it was easier for Levi to properly look at him. He was quiet, something that Levi had already observed, and he was looking down at Levi worksheet; thus, it made it easier for Levi to look at him. His hair was very blonde something that regardless of this library being close to an international school was still rare, so he must be foreign. Probably a senior or college student, he reasoned continuing his observations. 

__

Levi bit back a snort. 

__

His eyebrows were incredibly thick and...he inhaled this time, heart beating fast. Because he was looking down Levi noticed how his eyelashes were very long and a very pale, closer to white, gold. He continued looking at them, admiring their thickness. Mostly because he had never seen eyelashes like his. Of course it was then that he looked up and Levi looked away quickly, embarrassed at having been caught sneaking looks at him. 

__

_Shit._

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“I think you've got the hang of it now.” He said with an approving tone. 

__

_“Attention, the library will be closing in 15 minutes. Please proceed to checkout if you have any books you’d like to take with you.”_

__

The announcement repeated again as both realized the late hour. Levi watched as the other began packing away his laptop and the papers he had. He appeared to be in a hurry. 

__

“I hope you do well with your revising and that I was able to help in some way.” he gathered his books and slid his book bag over his shoulder. “Good luck.” 

__

He turned, smiled, and left Levi frozen at the table. 

__

_What kinda person just leaves like that?_

__

Yes, Levi was inexplicably mad. He had just been left on that table, just like that, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he was acting like he'd just been jilted. He reprimanded himself for acting like a dumb kid and packed up as well. On the way out he noticed the tall blonde in line and realized that he'd most likely wanted to check out before the lines got too long. He paused outside thinking that he hadn’t even thanked him and despite how Levi was against thanking people, the guy hadn’t been bad at all. He waited five minutes, then ten but he never came out. He cursed himself remembering that there was another exit - the one leading to the underground parking lot. 

__

He had not even asked the guys name. 

__

Levi got back to the dorm rooms, cursing his stupidity. He got out his worksheet to look over one last time and froze when he saw the smiley face and the “Well done” written in cursive below it. 

__

He snorted. _So dumb._

__

As he lay in bed that night, he went over the unusual meeting in the library. It bothered him that the blonde was still stuck in his mind. He hated that he felt as though he owed him and _he did._ More than anything, Levi hated being in someone's debt and somehow he was now in debt to some foreign, too tall blonde, with long eyelashes - 

__

_\- And a crappy old man style._

__

Because despite the fact that the guy had most likely been a couple years older than him, he dressed like an old man. _Sweater vests of all things._ He turned over and willed himself to sleep. Tomorrow was his exam and maybe he'd tried to find the guy over break at the library...maybe. There couldn’t be that many blondes in Shinganshina afterall. Not ones that looked like him. Not ones with such intense blue eyes or pale sweeping lashes. 

__

Levi did well on his exam and he didn’t find the tall blonde after all. He gave up on trying any further and instead focused on trying to find a part time job during break. He still thought about the blonde in the library but it wasn't as big a deal as before. He felt that he’d paid his debt by achieving a passing mark. That time in the library hadn’t been a waste afterall. 

__

He was nearly two weeks into the next term when he finally met the substitute history teacher everyone had been talking about. He didn’t expect him to be _him._

__

He was walking to the Natural Science building after a fight. He’d wound up in detention and a bruised cheek to top it off. The guy had gotten lucky that he’d even landed a shot. He entered the classroom and stopped when, at the desk, there was nobody. He looked down at the slip of paper to check the classroom number, they matched up. He rolled his eyes and took a seat thinking that it wouldn’t be his fault if they gave him the wrong number. He took out his school work as he waited. The door slid open. He didn't look up. 

__

“Hello, I’m sorry for being late. You must be here for detention.” 

__

Levi raised his head. The voice sounded familiar. His eyes widened. 

__

“Oh, this is a surprise.” The guy wandered over to the desk and set that same, familiar book bag down. 

__

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” 

__

He frowned back at him. 

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“Language, Mr. Ackerman.” 

__

“What the fu---”

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“Please don't make me write you down for crude language. It would hardly be much of a second meeting, don't you think?” he smiled back amused. 

__

_He remembered._

The heat around his neck and ears came inexplicably and without warning. 

__

_Smith,_ this was Mr. Smith, the new history teacher? 

“You’re a teacher?!” he asked, baffled. 

__

“Yes. It’s rather odd that we should meet before I grant you.” He frowned as he looked back at Levi. “I thought your name was _Rivaille?”_

__

Levi snorted at that and then looked back at Smith suspiciously. 

__

“It was written on your worksheet.” He explained clearly amused now. 

__

“You didn’t say what your name was.” 

__

“You didn’t ask.” 

__

“It’s only polite for someone to introduce themselves.” Levi crossed his arms. Smith copied him. 

__

“Then you’re as impolite as I was.” 

__

Levi glared back. Smith remained smiling at him. 

__

He looked older now than he had at the library. His hair was combed and parted to the side and he'd replaced that ugly sweater vest with a plain white collared shirt and black tie. He definitely looked like a teacher. 

__

“Did you do well on your exam?” 

__

_What?_ Levi zoned out.

__

“What?” 

__

“Your chemistry exam.” 

__

“Oh, right. Yeah, I did.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks.” 

__

“I'm relieved.” He came around the desk. “I wondered about you.” 

__

_What?!_

_Levi’s eyes snapped to Smith's, hand halfway frozen behind his nape._

__

Smith laughed and Levi was mesmerized. 

__

“Well, I’m glad I was able to help. I guess I’ll be okay as teacher then.” 

__

Levi felt his hackles rise at that remark. 

__

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

__

Smith tilted his head to the side, contemplative. 

__

“This is my first year as an official teacher.” he confessed. 

__

__

Levi relaxed. He was sure that he was going to say something about him being dumb or stupid or something. It was that line of thinking that suddenly made him realize that, eventually, Smith too would look at him with that same open disdain that all the other teachers did. It was only a matter of time and that inevitability soured Levi’s thoughts. He didn't notice when Smith kneeled before him, frowning at his bruised cheek. 

__

“Why haven’t you gone to the nurses office? Your cheek is swelling terribly.” 

__

It took a while for Levi to answer. He was closer than before and all Levi could focus on was the sweep of those pale lashes on his cheeks. 

__

“I’m fine.” he shrugged. 

__

Smith got up, frown deepening. 

__

“You said that the last time as well.” he looked at his watch and then turned back to Levi. “Stay here and I’ll be back.” 

__

Levi watched him leave, confused by his departure. When he did not immediately come back he returned to his school work. 

__

When Smith came back it was with a first aid kit. He kneeled before Levi again and applied some cooling ointment to an annoyed Levi. He fought him about it and only managed to get reprimanded about not taking care of his injury beforehand. _What a stubborn bastard._

__

“Well that should do it.” 

__

Smith returned everything to the medic kit and sat behind the desk and commenced shuffling through paperwork. Levi starred. 

__

“Aren’t you going to ask me what happened?” 

__

Smith didn’t look up as he answered. “Would you honestly tell me the truth?” 

__

“No.” 

__

“Then I don't see any reason to bother.” Levi narrowed his eyes. “I’m sure you have work to get through Mr. Ackerman. Let’s not waste time.” 

__

“Tch.” _I knew he was just like them._

__

At the end of detention, just as Levi was about to leave, Smith stopped him. 

__

“By the way, my name is Erwin Smith.” 

__

Levi stilled, not expecting this at all. 

__

“Such an old man's name?” He countered, turning back to a grinning _Erwin._

__

“I suppose it’s only right since I teach History.” 

__

For a moment Levi wanted to ask just how old he was? He doesn’t. As he turns to leave he calls out. 

__

“You already know my name, Sir, so I'll save myself the trouble.” 

__

He slides the door closed. 

__

“Goodnight then _Rivaille.”_

__

“It’s Levi, asshole!” 

__

His voice echoes in the empty hallway and as he continues down his way he thinks he must imagine the others deep chuckle in response. 

__

. 

__

. 

__

. 

__

“What the fuck are you doing here?” 

__

Around him the others go silent while Erwin simply stares at him, eyes wide, a slow smile forming on his face. 

__

“I’ve just experienced the strangest case of déjà vu.” 

__

Levi remains impassive. Erwin looks back at him, his smile dissolving. 

__

“Are you mad at me?” 

__

There’s too many people around them and this, - they - are drawing a crowd of curious onlookers. Levi hates attention and his next action will surely draw even more but…

__

He pulls Erwin by the sleeve of his shirt and it should be strange how easily Erwin rises and simply follows him but, it isn’t. Levi pulls him through the crowded ‘cafe’ and hallway until they finally stand in a fairly empty corner. He stops and turns around so quickly that Erwin collides with him and reaches to grab him by his shoulder, to steady them both. The scene so familiar and reminiscent of his departure that it has Levi’s stomach turning. The familiarity of that feeling angers him and it must show in the way he shrugs his shoulders. A jerk motion that immediately makes Erwin withdraw his hands away. 

__

“So you are mad at me.” 

__

It’s his tone that makes Levi push him back as hard as he can. He sounded so calm and _amused._ As if this was all a big joke to him. After so long. 

__

“Shut up!” Levi hisses like a cat. “Why are you here?!” 

__

Levi watches Erwin as he straightens up from where his back collided with the brick wall. Levi deceptively stronger than he looks. He’s got a confused, solemn look and Levi can practically hear the gears in that blonde head of his turning. Assessing. Trying to figure out the right words to say to him. 

__

“Stop doing that and just tell me why you're here?” 

__

Erwin freezes. 

__

“Am I really so transparent?” When Levi’s face doesn't change, his face turns serious. “I was invited to this school's cultural festival. It was just chance that it would be your classroom that I would happen to step into. I didn’t know…”

__

_You would have if you had kept in contact._

__

“No. Why are you here? In Shinganshina?” 

__

“I'm writing my dissertation.” Erwin looks off to the side. His hair has gotten longer and it's loose and free for the wind to blow through it. There’s a lump forming in Levi’s throat despite his anger. 

__

His voice is thick when he asks. 

__

“Why didn't you ever write back? I---We sent you countless emails...You never answered them or wrote back. Not once since you left.” 

__

Erwin looks ashamed and guilty. He hadn’t meant for that to happen but, all, throughout him being a teacher he had used the schools provided email and afterwards he’d only just realized this. He’d been warned at the start of his employment about his young age and the possible consequences of his youth. Student-teacher relationships had been something that he'd tried his best to deter. Especially when it came to the female students. He’d been readily and, sometimes. unnecessarily cold or stoic when he’d rebuff their advances. Something like that possibly tarnishing his record had always been in the back of his head. 

__

Be a source of guidance, a teacher or a friend but, never anything more than that. That had been his model. 

__

It had just never occurred to him how even being a friend to his students might have overstepped some boundary. Clearly he’d hurt them by leaving so abruptly and without a way to stay in contact with them all. Levi had been filled with so much distrust in the beginning and he could see how perhaps he’d been hurt most of all. 

__

“I didn’t realize that you all would miss me that much...that I would.” He’s looking at Levi now, blue eyes sincere and apologetic. “The error was on my part. I didn’t think the schools provided email would cease once I left and I never thought to ask for you own personal emails. It would have been too strange for me, a former teacher, to continue contact with you all. Given the work and attention that my studies required I would have likely neglected you all, regardless.” 

__

It makes sense what he's saying. Hange had suggested the same but even so Levi is angry. 

__

Levi tsks. “How long are you staying this time?” 

__

“I’m unsure at the moment. It could be up to a year before I finish my thesis. Maybe longer.” 

__

And Levi really shouldn't feel anything by his pathetic statement but it makes his heart soar with something akin to hope. 

__

“That long?” 

__

“Yes I’ve only just begun.” His eyebrows are scrunched up in concentration. “I have a schedule I mean to stick to but there are always extenuating circumstances far from my careful planning.” 

__

“And when you're done?” 

__

“I will go back and present it to my professors and if all goes well I will be granted a Doctoral.” 

__

“And then…?” 

__

“I'm not sure...I will only know for sure after I’m done with my thesis.” 

__

“Are you at University then?” 

__

“No. Technically I’m not and seeing as one isn't paid for just sitting around---” 

__

Levi’s eyes are wide at the sudden realization. 

__

“You’re going to be a teacher here?!” 

__

__

“No, nothing like that,” Levi tells himself he doesn’t feel disappointed. “Because of my schedule I will be an assistant to one of the professors here and in the evening I will be at a cram school. I truly could not have asked for a better situation. In both times, Shinganshina has been quite fortuitous for me. That is why I am here.” 

__

He's looking at Levi expectantly - its only that Levi doesn't know what he expects of him. Erwin, _Erwin_ meant a great deal to him. But, that was so long ago. Times are different now. Levi’s changed. He is not a child, not any longer. He is nearly an adult. So he should act like it and let go of childish things, and foolish _feelings._

__

“I guess you're going to be really busy?” 

__

Erwin seems to relax at his joking tone. He smiles at Levi and it takes everything for Levi to fight of the middle school him with the crush on his history teacher. 

__

They smile at one another and it feels as though no time has passed at all when inevitably it has. Levi feels dumb after having interrogated Erwin like he had and he tells him as such. He dismisses his roundabout apology saying that he understands where he is coming from. Perhaps if they had not been interrupted, the atmosphere might have turned awkward but his phone vibrated in the pocket of his skirt. They needed him back in the classroom he told Erwin. 

__

As he turned to leave Erwin called out to him - to wait. Levi turned around just as he stepped forward to kneel before him to pick up the fallen and forgotten bonnet, laying in the grass. It must have fallen when they collided. 

__

There was shrieking from the crowd as a gust of wind blew. Levis skirt fanned around him and his hair covered his eyes. Erwin’s hand brushed his when he handed the bonnet over. He commented on a storm possibly approaching despite the sunlight gleaming off his blonde head. 

__

“Yeah...thanks.” 

__

Levi’s in a trance as he heads back and when he realizes that Erwin is behind him, he stops and demands to know why he is following. His reply is so very much like him that Levi forgets what had him in an contesting mood. 

__

“I ordered the chocolate slice with coconut frosting. I can't simply forget about it, Levi.” 

__

Levi calls him a glutton. Erwin doesn't deny it. 

__

He is unsure how long they were gone but only a few people turn to look at them when he comes back. Probably because of how busy they still are. Levi brings out Erwin's slice of cake and he really can't help but call him childish when his eyes gleam like one at the sight of a simple slice of cake. 

__

“Levi why are your dressed like that?” 

__

_Fuck._

__

Erwin looks up, a welcoming smile on his face and for a moment Levi is horribly confused by the fact the he knows---

__

“Dinah it good to see you again.” he’d ended up wiping his mouth and pulling a chair out for the short, blonde haired women. 

__

“Erwin, I’m sorry for the wait but my son was introducing me to some of his friends.” 

__

_Shit. Shit!_

__

It’s through a panicked fog that Levi watches Dinah introduce Erwin to her son, Zeke. 

__

“Levi are you okay?” 

__

Levi turns to look at Erwin sitting beside him and assures that he’s fine. He turns back to look at the two, newly arrived, customers. His eyes lock with Zeke’s. 

__

Erwin chuckles and Levi’s eyes look over to him. Erwin is looking down, hiding his grin in that familiar way of his that means he's embarrassed. The sweep of his pale lashes create a shadow on his face. Levi inhales. 

__

Before, it was the pale sweep of his lashes which caused Levi’s heart to skip a beat. This was before... during their first meeting, in the library, then at school and...Levi’s eyes widen, his heart erratic. _Flighty_ in the cage of his chest. His heart skipped a beat. _When Erwin kneeled down to retrieve his bonnet._

__

A chair scrapes. 

__

Levi looks up, his eyes meeting Zeke’s. 

__

Zeke is maddeningly straight faced as he slowly shifts his gleaming eyes from him to Erwin, none the wiser, immersed in his chat with Dinah, and back again. There’s a curl to the corner of his snake like mouth as he raises an eyebrow at Levi. 

__

_Shit!_

__

Levi doesn't give him the satisfaction of rising to his obvious challenge. He turns back around, excusing himself robotically. He can still feel Zeke’s slimy gaze on him. 

__

They broke up months ago...They have slept twice since. 

__

_And now he fucking knows._

__

. 

__

. 

__

. 

__

. 

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I admit I myself didn't see that coming. :0  
> Please let me know your thoughts.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. :)


End file.
